Wiener Wägen und Pferdegeschirre: (= Viennese Horse-Drawn Carriages and Horse’s Harnesses)

130 numbered engraved or lithographed plates of which 122 in fine contemporary handcolouring (= complete). 56 of the plates with altogether 97 movable parts, mostly one or two to a plate but a few with up to 6 movable parts. All plates pasted onto thick paper mounts in various colours. With two supplementary plates: An original handcoloured drawing of a carriage with seven movable parts pasted onto recto of last leaf with manuscript signature by a German saddler 'Peter Karasch bürgl. Sattlermeister'. Another large engraved and handcoloured plate by A. Geiger after Heinrich Koller shows the Esterhazyi brougham a horse drawn carriage in lateral and rear view, with an engraved caption: Beilage zur Theaterzeitung. Neueste Wagen-Facon. Esterhazyi Brougham, (original), der Erste construirt und beendet am 30. Decemb. 1847 in dem Atelier des kais. königl. Hof-Sattlers Ph. Nic. Koller in Wien. This large engraving (364 x 252 mm) had been published as a supplement to the Theaterzeitung in Vienna in 1847. 52 blank leaves. Cont. green morocco spine, boards covered with agate marbled paper. Oblong folio (380 x 282 mm). Spine slightly rubbed, extremeties worn.

Not in Bibliotheca Viennensis; not in Bibliotheca Hippologica Johan Dejager; Berlin Catalogue 1439; Kayser, Vollstaendiges Buecher-Lexicon VI, 235 and XII, 548 (1831-1848). Published in 15 issues between 1831 and 1848 under two different titles. I. Die Neuesten Wiener-Wägen und Pferdegeschirre. II. Die Neuesten Wiener-Equipagen. The plates vary in size from ca 230 x 180 mm to ca 310 x 210 mm, all have nicely calligraphed contemporary manuscript captions mostly in upper right corner. There are three plates with horses and carriages and twenty-three plates depicting horses with richly ornated harnesses and teams of horses comprising two to six horses. Eight plates are not coloured, but these are also found uncoloured in the only set (incomplete with only 12 of 15 issues) which i could find on German auctions since 1950. All other plates are exquisitly handcoloured, the colours still bright and in part heigtened with gum Arabic. KVK and OCLC showing only two copies, but no collation given in Germany and Austria; Ducal Library Corvey and OENB. An extremely scarce suite, especially if complete with the full complement of plates, as in our copy, in a decorative contemporary binding.